Study of Social Impacts from Sharing Suicidal Thoughts and Emotional Distress in Rural Eastern Uganda

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying how sharing suicidal thoughts or severe emotional distress affects social support and harm in rural eastern Uganda. The study aims to understand who people choose to tell, what happens after disclosure, the harms that may occur, and how support can be safely activated according to individual preferences. This observational study involves adults with lived experience of suicidality or severe distress. Participants will complete structured surveys and in-depth interviews to explore different disclosure experiences. The study includes groups who had helpful disclosure outcomes, those who experienced social harm, and those who never disclosed their distress. Information collected covers disclosure pathways, comfort levels, social harm, preferred support persons, and conditions for activating support. During the study, participants will be asked to complete a 60-minute survey and interview covering their disclosure history, social harms, and support preferences. Researchers will monitor participant comfort and willingness to undergo suicide screening, with safeguarding procedures in place. The primary outcome measures focus on social harm, while secondary measures assess disclosure comfort and support activation preferences. The study runs from May 2026 to August 2026.

Disclosure, Social Harm, and Support Activation Study